Prime Minister disappoints, so do journalists

How many of you saw the Prime Minister’s first press conference yesterday? If you did, and felt thoroughly bored through the 1.5 hours of sheer torture, spare a thought for me. I was in the same hall.

Now, all over the world, the head-of-state (government) press conferences are eagerly awaited. It allows the media to come face to face with the nation’s chief executive, without any aides. It not only gives us the chance to find out what is in store for the nation, and hear it directly from the person who matters most, but also form an opinion about the grasp that the person has of the challenges the nation faces. Does he have it in him to steer the nation?

Dr Manmohan Singh is undoubtedly among the most qualified people holding such jobs in the world. His excellent background in economics has come in very handy, especially in light of the financial turmoil the world has seen in the recent past. The same cannot be said about his public/press dealings, unfortunately. And yesterday’s press conference was proof enough.

For a premier who has often been accused of being weak, this was one chance to set the record straight. He could have grabbed the occasion to speak straight, make strong points about his handling of various situations etc to not only shut up the pesky scribes, but even send a signal to his team that he means business. He could have indulged in some banter with the media, including a huge cache of international media, to make a statement. Yes, I am in control and am not overawed by any of you. Instead, it was a Prime Minister who seemed almost scared to take a stand, scared to upset anyone, stonewall tough questions with platitudes, and seem almost under-prepared to answer tough questions, not that there were too many.

I thought he began on a good note by deciding not to read his opening remarks that had been circulated half an hour before he arrived. Imagine hearing him go on in his monotone, rambling, deadpan manner for twenty minutes as he trundles through motherhood statements it contained. But the relief was short-lived. For he did exactly that in his responses, which, minus any accompanying energy, makes it worse. May seem uncharitable, but the only time he seemed energetic and excited was when a questioner asked about whether he had asked Rahul Gandhi to join the government.

Our PM perked up, and gushed how Rahul baba was most qualified to be a member of his council of ministers, but had been reluctant to join because he wanted to rebuild the party. And then the tireless soldier of the party that our doc is, added he is a member of the party and Mrs Gandhi is the president of the party and if the party so desired, he would step down immediately. I really wondered where that came from, for at no point did the questioner hint that he ought to step down to make way for Rahul G. If he is trying to dispel the perception that he is a puppet, this unnecessary add-on response did not help. But who knows, it may even be deliberate. I accept the situation and if that is what keeps my position safe, so be it. In all this, the one positive was the number of journos called upon to ask questions from the regional language press from all over the country.

Coming back to the questions, I fail to understand why our media cannot ask sharp, incisive questions? And more importantly, why do they believe in sermonizing and lecturing in the garb of questions? I remember when my colleague had the chance to interview George W Bush before his India trip a few years ago. He had been given very limited time, so wanted to ensure no time is wasted in questioning. He rehearsed innumerable times before going in for the interview. The idea was to get Bush to talk, not talk to him. Seems our scribes still don’t get that. And while I waited for the media advisor to pick some foreign correspondents too for some questions, he let me down. Quite surprising, for their questions are often direct and to the point. What was even more surprising was that I had seen the Press Information Bureau guys take questions from some of them in advance. Perhaps the questions were too uncomfortable to answer.

As a profession, journalism has its pros and cons. A number of people think it is glamorous. Some find the scribe’s easy access to top politicians and celebs a heady potion. I have also had friends ask me if I can get them the ‘Press’ sticker for their cars. The perception is that the traffic police are lenient if the vehicle sports the Press sticker.

Now if you consider these as pros, I can tell you from experience that the cons outweigh the pros any day. And one of the major cons is attending numerous press conferences and seminars. And even among those, not many have been as boring as the one yesterday. Mr Prime Minister, please prove us wrong!

Author

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried his hands at entrepreneurship in between. Although he has written on several subjects, he has a weakness for IT and telecommunications. He is an avid sportsman, a trained high-altitude mountaineer, a passionate mountain biker and a marathoner. His blog, Random Access, will cover issues that take into account these varied interests.
Follow @rajeshkalra on Twitter

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried h. . .